[gordygroover]

I seldom make predictions....far too much water under the bridge at my age so I will leave that for the youth BUT, if you need to put some smelt in the freezer and wanna do it yourself I am thinking this saturday "just may, possibly"be your best chance to do it.
Commercial guys are still doing spotty down here BUT the price has come down to 6 bucks a pound if you buy in bulk.
I have seen no gull activity BUT did watch three harbour seals at gearheart and a load of fish ducks working the stretch near the launch yesterday. With the water temp rising and nice day time temps I am thinking this comming sat just may be worth taking a chance.
Remember...by the time you hear the smelt are in, then the run for the year is over.
Gonna be a crap shoot but I think the chances are the best they will be for any dippers with freezer space.

 

[Red Neckersom]

I agree Gordy. Tup:

While we were sturgeon fishing near the Carnival Market on Sunday, we did see at least one bird have a smelt in its mouth and three or four seals lurking about. I highly doubt they were chasing the few steelies and salmon. I may go try for some saturday and do a little sturge fishing.

 

[Iron Head]

Gordy, I trust your prediction.
Will be down this Saturday.

 

[spareoar]

I don,t care for the columbia smelt, I'd rather eat the north end smelt, and use the southerners for sturg bait. Don't know why they taste diferent, but they do IMO anyway.

 

[gordygroover]

I don,t care for the columbia smelt, I'd rather eat the north end smelt, and use the southerners for sturg bait. Don't know why they taste diferent, but they do IMO anyway.

No matter where you get your smelt, they always taste better if you run them through a sturgeon first.

 

[FASTFISH]

The daughter and I will be down, probably @ camelot and try our luck.

Last year it took us 4 hours to scratch out 2 limits for bait, slow but better than spending 6-8 bucks a pound plus were outdoors and get to drink all the PBR's that Gordy has in his fridge, LOL

Give me a call Red, maybe well meet up!!!!!

 

[goody31]

Who sells them in bulk? It's kinda of a far drive to come down to the Cow from Whidbey. If any of you guys have a number or a name it would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[Keysrob]

Who sells them in bulk? It's kinda of a far drive to come down to the Cow from Whidbey. If any of you guys have a number or a name it would be helpful. Thanks.

Forgive me but driving to the Columbia to catch smelt from Whidbey Island is lunacy. Just head up to Cornet Bay and jig them off the docks.

 

[THE TRAPPER]

There's more than one way to skin a Cat .
There's more than one way to starve a Seal.
Perhaps low numbers of Smelt can be a good thing. :? "TRAPPER"

 

[GURU]

Has anyone tried down by Lombardi's here in Everett?, I saw a couple of guys down there the other day, I might hit it tomorrow on my lunch break, but want some info, and does anyone want to go for an hour tomorrow if they are in? Tup:

 

[Red Neckersom]

There's more than one way to skin a Cat .
There's more than one way to starve a Seal.
Perhaps low numbers of Smelt can be a good thing. :? "TRAPPER"

Well that sounds good in theory, but when the Sea Lions starting eating oversize sturgeon near Bonneville and all over the Columbia RIver due to lack of salmon for all of them that kept coming to feed on the returning salmonoid runs. So far its not working out to well.

 

[volynsky]

I don,t care for the columbia smelt, I'd rather eat the north end smelt, and use the southerners for sturg bait. Don't know why they taste diferent, but they do IMO anyway.

they taste different because they are different kinds of smelt. the north end smelt are surf smelt that spawn on saltwater beaches and do not migrate into rivers.

 

[Chuck S]

I don,t care for the columbia smelt, I'd rather eat the north end smelt, and use the southerners for sturg bait. Don't know why they taste diferent, but they do IMO anyway.

No matter where you get your smelt, they always taste better if you run them through a sturgeon first.

LMAO. Now that is funny Tup:

 

[stockingfoot]

I tried Everett last year and all the smelt I saw were about 3" to 5" long.

 

[Fish Guy Keith]

LoL... I completely agree!!

I don,t care for the columbia smelt, I'd rather eat the north end smelt, and use the southerners for sturg bait. Don't know why they taste diferent, but they do IMO anyway.

No matter where you get your smelt, they always taste better if you run them through a sturgeon first.

 

[madcapmag]

I tried Everett last year and all the smelt I saw were about 3" to 5" long.

The 4-6 inchers are perfect. Lop the heads off, run a finger through the gut under running water, coat in a light batter (I just use cornstarch and water), deep fry. They are just like fish-stick. You can crunch through the bones.

Here's a trick for all you north-end smelters... bring a pair of metal serving tongs with you. If any falls onto the docks, you don't have to get your fingers and subsequently your rod and reel all scaled up. Also, at the end of the day, pour some water into the bucket to cover the smelt and then some. Take the tongs and stir vigorously. Toss out water and repeat a few times. This will get rid of the scales. No mess, no fuss.

 

[GURU]

I tried Everett last year and all the smelt I saw were about 3" to 5" long.

The 4-6 inchers are perfect. Lop the heads off, run a finger through the gut under running water, coat in a light batter (I just use cornstarch and water), deep fry. They are just like fish-stick. You can crunch through the bones.

Here's a trick for all you north-end smelters... bring a pair of metal serving tongs with you. If any falls onto the docks, you don't have to get your fingers and subsequently your rod and reel all scaled up. Also, at the end of the day, pour some water into the bucket to cover the smelt and then some. Take the tongs and stir vigorously. Toss out water and repeat a few times. This will get rid of the scales. No mess, no fuss.

That is some good info, especially about the scales part, thanks, I went down there today and saw two guys, i forgot my pole today so I am definitely going down there tomorrow to try and get some nice ones for bait and candy Tup: I will post my findings tomorrow

 

[FASTFISH]

Looks like WDFW found some smelt in the Cowlitz yesterday



Catches:
Columbia River:
Commercial:
3,411 lbs landed Monday, February 11th (greater than the cumulative number to date). The catch was a mixture of sizes and sex, all very green (unspawned).
6,255 lbs cumulative landings since late-December (preliminary numbers).
Cowlitz River:
Sport:
WDFW test dipping on Wednesday, February 13th, produced 15 smelt in 12 dips (up to 3 fish per dip) at Gerhart Landing. There was a mix of sizes. No smelt were caught at other locations further upstream.
Commercial:
No commercial landings reported for Sunday, February 12th.
0 lbs cumulative since January 2nd.

 

[Red Neckersom]

RIght on, thanks Jason. I might be there on saturday.

 

[gordygroover]

for anybody looking to buy some of the critters, Check out the Portland Craigslist. A local boy is taking orders. Also on the way to the willow grove launch is a sign advertising fresh smelt....I may get a chance to get the number tomorrow but I will wait till after the dip on saturday to see if anybody wants it. Who knows....this may be a descent run. Or it may be over by now...Like I said before,,,, Crapshoot.